CONFIDENCE

A couple of years back i saw a young man on a live TV show who was describing how he rose spectacularly from grass to grace in a brief period of time. During the program he announced an upcoming success seminar which he had organized, there he promised to share the secret of his success. Trust Nigerians, many people quickly paid to enroll for the seminar as expected and I also registered as well.

On the seminar day, the hall was packed full (tell me who doesn't want to succeed afterall). After taking time to tell us a fascinating story of his life and how he rose to be who he was then, he was ready to divulge the 'secret'. Everyone listened with rapt attention, I can literarily feel that atmosphere was tensed with suspense, those who brought out their pen motioned to capture the secret on paper immediately, some people at this point had put on the recorder on their  phones. In short we were all ears, ever so ready to grab and run off with this powerful secret that transformed the life of this young man.

This man happened to be one of those speakers who derive joy in suspense(lol), so our young multimillionaire further heightened our suspense, with some delay tactics, a little bit of digression, some motivation, more testimonies of his millions and then he finally said it... Yes he eventually divulged the precious information we have all been expecting. And this is what he said was the secret of his success...            
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CONFIDENCE.

As simple as it may sound, Confidence is a critical component in the success equation that even God himself reckons with it. It is a success prerequisite and indeed forms one of the criteria for success. Let's quickly draw some inference from the Bible.

Remember the popular story of the twelve spies who gave a report about the land of promise which God gave them, recall that there were two factions of ten against two when the report was rendered? And the difference between the two sides was simply CONFIDENCE or the lack of it.

When he took over from Moses, Joshua was admonished and instructed several times by God  that in order for him to be truly successful, he must remain courageous (Confident). Jesus knew that upon his exit, His disciple would not be able to continue the work of the gospel to do lack of confidence, because when Jesus the source of their confidence had ascended on high, they've all gone into hiding. This was why he particularly told them to wait in Jerusalem until they are endued with power of the Holy Spirit, then they can and will have that confidence enough to be witnesses of Him throughout the whole world. No wonder one the first thing that people perceived about the disciples after the baptism of the Holy Spirit was their boldness (confidence).

Even in our age you would agree with me that people would rather do business with someone who is confident, employers prefer confident employees, ladies would rather date a confident man... Importance of confidence cannot be over emphasized. In the journey of success you can't afford to leave home without CONFIDENCE.

What is confidence? and how can one gain this confidence?

Confidence is a deep rooted feeling of assurance in something, someone, a system or an ideology. The Oxford dictionary defines confidence as being certain of one's abilities or having trust or faith in people, plans or future.
Another word for confidence is trust, faith or assurance.

So how can one get this confidence?

Confidence can be gotten in two ways or better stated, confidence is of two types; Acquired Confidence and Developed Confidence.

As the name implies Acquired confidence is the confidence that that is gotten from another source; which can be someone, system, something or from an ideology. In order words this confidence is not something you worked at but simply gotten from another source where it has already been worked for. A unique feature of acquired Confidence is that it dies or waynes off immediately the external source from where it was acquired doesn't exist again, or faulted or compromised or proven wrong but it's relatively easy and quick to obtain.

For instance when you gain confidence because of a message you heard, a book you read, a promise from someone, a testimony you heard or witnessed from someone, the effectiveness and efficiency of a system etc. That type of confidence can be categorised as acquired Confidence because it is totally reliant on the source it was gotten from and it feasles out or reduce drastically if the source is tampered with or no longer there.

If someone's confidence is based on a rich uncle or a rich parent and peradventure something happens to that the uncle or parent passes on, that confidence will surely be affected and fear might set in. Fear is the opposite of confidence.

If the confidence is based on a theory or ideology which is later proven wrong, then that confidence will surely feasle out. There was a time it was believed that the earth is flat, but this theory was later proven otherwise. Anyone having Confidence in the previous theory ceases to do so automatically on this realization.

Acquired Confidence is good and easy to gain but the the source of that Confidence matters a lot. Because all it takes to destroy such confidence no matter how great it is, is to take away the source or destroy the source. No wonder the Bible says "put not your trust (confidence) in man whose breath is in his nostrils" (Is.2:22 NIV). Three main reasons why one should not build his confidence totally in man; Man is limited, Man is fallible and Man can die.
Man as a source of confidence is prone to these three things. Some people built their business around a government policy and are totally dependent on it. But the day government decides to change the policy will also mark the end of that business. Talking of Acquired Confidence.

Acquired Confidence is not being discouraged  as we cannot do without it and we need  it from time to time. It is the acquired  Confidence that makes us to trust in God and His word for instance. It's a good type of confidence which comes by trusting and believing in the source. Therefore the source of an acquired confidence should be verified and assessed so as to know what level of confidence one can repose in such.

The second type of confidence is Developed confidence and this is the type of confidence that is born out of personal development, competence or personal experience. It's something we work at to build overtime, by learning, training, apprenticeship etc. and iyalready become a part of you. It does not depend on any external source.

This confidence is innate. An experienced engineer that has worked on solving a particular problem over the 10 years cannot fret or jitter if he has to solve that same problem again, even in a new environment.

They brought someone possessed with a demon to Jesus and Jesus casted the demon out immediately but his disciples could not before then. So they asked him "why could we not cast him out and Jesus answered and said because of your unbelief (acquired confidence which was shaken at that point) then he said further this type does not go except by prayer and fasting (personal spiritual development).

Developed confidence can also be referred to as self confidence it's a confidence that the source is within the person not externally dependent. That is why some training are priced high because once you perfect the skill it becomes part of you as long as you do it. Developed confidence seems more stable than acquired confidence and cannot be easily affected like acquired one. However it has its own downside as well.

If developed confidence is not well managed it can breed arrogance, pride and over confidence. Because you know something well enough or very good at a particular thing can lead to overbloated ego and as you know pride goes before a fall. Samson is a good example because of his gift and innate ability that God gave him he got intoxicated with his power and refused divine instructions which later became his downfall.

To be truly successful and last therein, there must be a combination of acquired and developed confidence. It takes the the two to build a lasting success, having only one type is a lopsided confidence and the consequence will soon catch up.
David was someone who demonstrated the combination of these two types of confidence and therefore one of the most successful king. While he relied totally on God (acquired Confidence) he was also very skilful at what he does and surrounded himself other exceptionally competent people during his period of reign as the king of Israel.

When David brought down Goliath he used these two types of confidence to finish Goliath. His dependence on God to give him victory and his own competence through his experience and skill (sling shot) to take the giant down.

I had a friend who went for an interview at a time but was not selected despite the fact that he was almost the best candidate for the job. Why? No not for lack of confidence, he was a very confident guy, but rather his confidence was lopsided; a one way confidence which was entirely based on his competence (developed confidence). So he was perceived as being arrogant and proud therefore he couldn't get the job. He learnt his lessons and quickly balanced his Confidence quotient which made him to secure a job the next opportunity.

So you see brethren, confidence is critical to success but it must be well balanced. Acquired confidence alone is just like faith without works. It's like a student that believes God will make him to pass examination without studying, his confidence will definitely fail him in the day of exam. Also developed Confidence alone is equally not suitable because it breeds pride and arrogance; ask King Nebuchadnezzar.

2Pt.1:5-8 "add to your faith virtue..." It takes more than our acquired confidence of only faith to all round success, he said "add to your faith..".  It's more like add to your acquired confidence, developed confidence (competence).

However these two types of confidence have similarity in building them, which is practice or repetition. It takes constant practice or repetition to build both the acquired and developed confidence. Rom. 10 " so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God".
Likewise Heb 5:14 "But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
So hearing in Rom.10:17 signifies continuous hearing to build our faith or acquired confidence. While the phrase by the reason of use implies constant practice.

Therefore in order to build these two types of confidence, practice is paramount, the more you practice the more you increase the level of your confidence.

By acquiring and developing our confidence path to our success in life, career, ministry and  family is clearer and sure. You shall succeed in Jesus name. Amen.

Selah.

PLAN YOUR EXIT!

In the early days of my career, I had a boss who really inspired me in a lot of ways. He once said something that stuck with me up until now. It was during one of those offline moments when he was talking to I and my colleagues in a relaxed mood after the day's work. Sharing with us some of his past work experience, he'd said this as he rounded up his talk "... when you get to a place, one of the things you do from onset is to PLAN YOUR EXIT."

It was much later that I had a deeper understanding of this statement and the Holy Spirit ministered to me more. It is such a profound statement that will not only aid our success in life but also guide the way and manner we live. Although at time, it was in relation to our job/career that the statement was made (planning how and probably when you will leave an organisation), nonetheless the application of this truth is vast and greatly rewarding.

Planning your exit is important and necessary because your exit is the surest event that will take place in any organization, situation or circumstances that you may find yourself. Whether you like it or not a time is definitely coming that you must exit. In an organisation any other event like promotion, salary increase, change of department, additional responsibilities, transfers etc., may be uncertain, but one thing that is as sure as ever is your EXIT. Either planned or unplanned it will definitely take place one day, even if you are the founder of the organization.

"...your exit is the surest event that will take place in any organization, situation or circumstances that you may find yourself..."

Exit is an inevitable event that everyone without exception must go through. Therefore it is only wise to acknowledge this, but even wiser is for one to PLAN for it. The organization or employer is fully aware of this fact that is why they have created a policy to plan not only the intake of employee but also their exit as well.

Planning your exit involves two phases, the NOW and THEN or the CURRENT and FUTURE or the HERE and the HEREAFTER.

- The first phase is the NOW/CURRENT phase which signifies your present position. Planning one's exit does not translate to loosing sight of the present, but rather it reinforces the fact that the present situation should be worked on more than ever.vit means the current state should not be toyed with not taken for granted because it is what determines how our exit will turn out eventually.

Permit me to use Jesus Christ as our grand example not for religious reason but because this is one person in the history of man who thoroughly planned His exit right from the beginning of his ministry and we can see the results till date.
In John 9:4 he said "I must work the work of Him that sent me while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work".
Eph.5:16 says "making the most of every opportunity for the days are evil". The knowledge of our exit should propel us to put in the very best of our effort on the NOW.
Ecc.9:10 " ...whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave where you are going".
Ecc. 12:1 says "Remember the Lord in the days of your youth (NOW), before the evil days (EXIT) come..."

So planning for one's exit in the NOW phase means that every moment is to be cherished and judiciously utilized, doing the right thing and not to be trivialised. It means a qualitative use of our time and opportunities because the time of exit is coming when those opportunities present now will no longer be there!
So how do we make the best out of our present to prepare for our future?

1. Set goals on what you plan to achieve while you are presently working. It also means to define your life purpose or assignment from onset and work tirelessly at it. Have a motivation to work for now and give it your all before the exit comes. Jesus had this mindset when He declared his life mission openly reading from Is.61:1 and he pursued His purpose with passion from thence forth. Knowing your calling or purpose can come by any of the following ways
      - By divine revelation
      - By discovery of natural abilities
      - By what you have passion to do.

"...the time of exit is coming when those opportunities present now will no longer be there!"

2. Planning your exit in the CURRENT phase should also cause you to make provision for your absence, that time of exit when you no longer be in the scene for one reason or another. We must realize that our life purpose is always bigger than us as individual. We cannot do it all because we are limited as men. Therefore impacting someone's life positively, mentor, coach, train and disciple those who will carry on that legacy, biz, mission etc in your stead. Abraham's mission was to be a father of many nation but he gave birth to only Isaac as the only child of promise. Isaac carried on the mission in his stead having instilled the values and tenets from Abraham. Isaac also passed this on to his sons and so on till the time of our lord Jesus Christ when we all can become children of the promise by faith.
The reason why the gospel of Jesus Christ is till in existence today was that Jesus made adequate provision for his physical absence right from the beginning of his ministry by discipling a team of followers who will carry on the work in his stead. He replicated himself in others. Never depart from the present position you are now with all the skills, knowledge and abilities God has blessed you with. This life is a continuum (continuity) not a competition, transfer it to others to carry on. Jesus said greater works shall we his disciples do. He wasn't after being a superstar in his generation, but he was rather after making superstars out of his followers. A good leader will always be confident that the work will be done whether he/she is there or not. Why? Because he/she has invested in the followers long and well enough to trust them.
Prov.13:22 "A good man leaves inheritance for his children's children"
why? because he (good man) planned his exit and therefore deemed it fit to invest in the next generation.

Now don't get it twisted, the Bible is not only talking about physical and material inheritance here but also and much more intangible and spiritual inheritance. What inheritance did Jesus leave with his disciples? Is it gold or silver? Lands or houses? No It's the Holy Spirit by which they where also able to carry on and fulfil the assignment given to them. Material inheritance are good but the lasting inheritance you can leave for the next generation are the intangible ones, like wisdom, faith, training and development, instilling good values, helping others to stand on their feet, a good legacy etc.

Prov.13:22 "A good man leaves inheritance for his children's children"

You are only a true success when you have been able to birth success in another, else your success fizzles out once you are no longer there. But when another successful individual can boldly make reference to you as the reason behind their success, you are a success indeed. Planning for your exit is investing in others.

- The second phase of planning for your exit is the THEN/FUTURE phase i.e. preparing for the next stage after the exit. When we talk of exit, exit does not imply an extinction rather it is a transient state that leads to another phase. Exit in itself is an entrance to another stage or realm. And don't forget exit in this context does not only imply death, exit generally means leaving where you are for another place. Therefore planning your exit is to adequately be prepared for the next level.

"Exit in itself is an entrance to another stage or realm."

One must be sincere enough to ask real life questions like "what next after this?" And begin to make concise plan for what is ahead. So that when the exit comes you are prepared to enter into the next stage. Remember the parable of the ten virgins (Matt.25:1)

This is mistake many people make when a sudden change of life event like the loss of a job happens and they are not fully prepared for it. Remember exit will always happens so be prepared to move to the next stage when it does happen. You may need to save up, create extra means of income, develop new skills, acquire more certifications, build networks,  etc. Just be ready and don't be taken unawares by and exit event. Those who do this do not suffer the pains of unprepared exit, but they leverage on their preparedness and enjoys the gains of the exit.

"Remember exit will always happens so be ready to move to the next stage when it does happen."

The exit phenomenon is inherent in areas of our life therefore it must be a way of life for us who desire to live a fulfiled life (abundant life). However the ultimate exit of all is our exit from this planet earth, it's the surest exit of all  times and cannot be taken for granted. We all therefore must be prepared for this exit applying all of the above points. This exit as well is an entrance into another realm and only those who are prepared will know it for good.
The good news is that God has made all the provisions for this final exit through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ and all we have to do is to believe in him and accept him.

Say the following prayers to prepare for this exit now, for no one knows the time of their ultimate exit.

"Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me and giving your only begotten Son Jesus as a sacrifice for my son's so that I will not perish but have everlasting life. I believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and I confess Him as my Lord and Saviour. In Jesus name I pray" Amen.

God is NOT sentimental

Many believers have mistaken God's mercy for God being sentimental. In fact most times when believers are laying claim on the mercy of God, a more critical look will reveal that they are simply and unknowingly expecting God to be sentimental. There seems to be this subtle confusion between His mercy taken for sentimentalism and it's so done out of ignorance. 

Perhaps It would not have mattered much whether we mistake His mercy for sentiments or not; but it matters a great deal because this misconstrued idea is costly and ladened with many dangerous consequences.

It is this erroneous notion that has kept many believers living below God's expectation, while some are currently in a cycle of disappointments and questioning the faithfulness of God, some other Christians due to this ignorance are in a particular undesirable situation for a long time with no end in sight and maybe the most alarming of the consequences is the fact that many are under the guise of God's mercy but are actually on a highway to hell!  

This is the reason why this message is  coming your way this day, to help someone to overcome this ignorance barrier (my people perish for lack of knowledge) and begin to enjoy the fulness of God's kind of life (the abundant life). Jesus said "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free".

First off, we need to differentiate between the mercy of God and God being sentimental. While the two may have the same outward feel, there's a world of difference between them intrinsically.

Mercy is rooted in the nature of God, it's a prominent characteristic of our Heavenly Father by which He freely relates with us despite our short comings. A good number of scriptures attest to this fact:

Ps. 103:8 "the Lord is merciful and gracious...". 

Vs 17 "the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting...".

Ps 136 "... His mercies endures forever more".

Ps 100:5 "... His mercy is everlasting..." 

Ps 101  " I will sing of the mercy of the Lord". 

Time and space will not allow us to quote hundreds of scriptures affirming the mercy of God and that our God is indeed a merciful God.

Rom. 9:16 "...it's of the Lord that shows mercy" 

Eph. 2:4 "... God is rich in mercy". 

James 5:11 "... tender in mercy".

From Genesis to revelation the mercy of the Lord is well pronounced and established.

Ex 34:6-7, when God passed by Moses in a cloud of glory, there was a proclamation declaring who God is "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious keeping mecy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity... but by no means clearing the guilty..."

Now this is a firsthand information about who God is coming from God Himself, it is not a man's opinion. And guess what? God has not changed and cannot! Mal.3:6. The first attribute God declared about himself here is mercy! But he quickly adds by implication that His mercy is not being sentimental and cannot be taken for granted i.e. eventhough He is merciful, God will recompense the wicked even to the third and fourth generation.

By definition mercy means compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone who deserves punishment. The Greek word for mercy 'eleos' also means compassion or pity. On the flip side, sentiments is an exaggerated or self indulgent feeling of tenderness, sadness or nostalgia. It's being emotional or overemotional.

Most times when some people seems to hope for the mercy of God seem not to get it, they might just be expecting God to be emotional to them and answer based on that emotion. That's why you hear a prayer like "God please look at my condition and answer me, or God please see my tears and answer me..." As much as God is compassionate and loving, it would really help to get it straight that He is not in any way overruled nor manipulated by our emotions! 

This is where many Christians are getting it wrong and some have even backslided because of this ignorance. Let's take a few biblical examples to buttress this truth.

Cain became envious of his brother Abel because he was expecting sentiments from God, that God should still accept his offering even though it wasn't the best, at least he gave something (can someone relate with this?). Do you know what God told him Gen.4:7 "why are you angry?... If you do well, will you not be accepted?..." Note that Cain did not bring a bad or terrible offering, he just brought something that's just okay. But Abel was deliberate about His offering he took time to select the best. God made it clear there are no sentiments here if you have also done well God would have also accepted your offering. 

Hannah was coming to Shiloh for years and yet did not get what she was looking for. I would have supposed that God should have had 'mercy' on her and consider her several years of coming to Shiloh at least to answer her. But that never happened for God is not moved by the paraphernalia neither is He a respecter of persons.

Until that day when Hannah chose to be resolute and insisted on her miracle, she tarried in God's presence  Was God not merciful? of course he is, but not sentimental. A careful study of Hannah situation revealed that at some point she was simply expecting her husband to answer her not fully trusting God. 

The point here is that God will not just hand it over to you because you are crying, or because you are the most senior or because of your years in church Heb11:6 without faith it is impossible to please God. It doesn't matter how long we cry or complain, the best God will do is to send his word of faith to us to redirect us from crying to exercising our faith.

Jesus was at a village and it was recorded that he could not do mighty works because of their unbelief. Were there not sick people there? Were they not people in pain and agony, some would even have been crying, but guess what, as compassionate and as powerful Jesus Christ is , he could not even help their situation because of their unbelief. 

Mercy of God answers to our faith and absolute trust in him. Ps.103 said his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear (trust, reverence and obey) him..."

Our God is not a respecter of persons, if you are willing and obedient you stand to benefit the dividends, but if not, sorry . you don't. No matter who you are, how long you've been in the church, your position, your association, family background, your tears, your pains etc. This is why it appears God is unfaithful to some Christians. We expect God to see how long we've been in church to answer us. That's why a newbie who's full of faith and fire is getting more result than many of us who have been accustomed to the message and God's presence and take it for granted.

Brethren God loves you and he is more than willing to bring you out of that circumstances, for he delights in the prosperity of His servants. The real question is are you obeying him to do what he has told you or simply expecting him to be sentimental. He sent His word and delivered them from their sicknesses. His word is the ultimate. Let your faith be based on what he has said to you not on emotions.

Shall we sin that grace may abound? Some people particularly indulge in sinful lifestyle but believe God is a merciful God and will continue to condone their sinful lifestyle as long as they are asking for forgiveness. Yes you are right God will forgive you but are you repentant? Meaning you are willing to confess and forsake that lifestyle. Prov.28:13.

The message of grace is not a license to sin rather it's an empowerment to live above sin. Rom.6:14. Devil deceives some Christians even church leaders indulging in sinful lifestyle and blasting in tongues assuming God is sentimental probably because of their offering or because of their commitment in church their sinful lifestyle will be overlooked without genuine repentance. Jesus said on the last day many will come and say Lord Lord! did I not plant several churches and mentored many pastors, cast out devils in your name and organized big crusades where many souls were saved? Guess what Jesus will say to these so called generals in the church " depart from me you workers of iniquities, you were busy sleeping with church members all these while despite several warnings, you visit brothel anytime you are out of town, you divert church fund for personal and selfish gains, abuse their spouses, refused to say the truth and deliver the message I sent you" He said such people will be casted into the outer darkness, lake of fire where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth" why? because they mistook the mercy of God for sentiments! 

Do you know what even some people believe that God cannot be that mean he doesn't really mean what he is saying there (mentality of God being sentimental will actually cost some people there eternal destination). God is not mean, He is merciful but at the same time NOT moved by sentiments.

This message is coming our way not condemn but God want us to know that he loves us so much and has prepared the best of things for us in this life and even hereafter but we cannot access them based on mere sentiments. God's mercy is quite different from sentiments and we should not be deceived.  

Wake up from this deception and start enjoying the fulnesss of God for you; find out what the new convenant in Christ has made provisions for you and begin to access it by raw faith from today.

Shalom.